28" Magnolia, Part 1

With it generous proportions and lush foliage, the 28" Magnolia is one of the most impressive Tiffany shade designs. Depicting a Saucer Magnolia in full bloom, the dome shaped shade is covered in a fretwork of delicate branches supporting an explosion of flowers. This large shade is usually used with the impressive Sr. Floor base, but can also be used to great effect as a chandelier fixture.This Magnolia shade was commissioned by a southern client.

The 28" Magnolia is one of the few Tiffany shade designs that regularly features Drapery Glass. This unique glass is shaped and manipulated by hand while it is being rolled resulting in a sheet that has deeply folded and rippled surface. Used for the flowers in this shade, the glass gives added dimension to the large saucer shaped flowers.

Our client requested a classic color scheme for this shade, with white and pink flowers set against a fresh blue springtime sky. In the photo above, we have begun adding the first large drapery glass flowers to the layout.

Bill and Irwin worked closely together to choose the glass for this shade. As with many of our most complicated pieces, over 300 hours will be spent from start to finish on this project. Irwin is shown choosing glass for some of the flowers. Color, texture and transparency of each piece is carefully considered when selecting the glass.

Once all the pieces have been cut by hand and fit to the pattern, many hours are spent wrapping the individual piece of glass a thin copper foil. The copper edging will enable the shade to be soldered together. Bill is shown working on a section of the shade. This time consuming step of the process is very visual, so we often listen to audiobooks during the foiling process. Bill is shown at the top of the post doing a final check on the colors before the next stage of this shade's construction will begin.

More of the construction will follow in upcoming posts.

Lamp of the Week: 15" Spider

With its three dimensional arachnid silently resting atop its web waiting for the unwary to approach, the 15" Spider shade elicits strong reactions from viewers, especially when the shade is created in deep, brooding colors. The pattern is ingeniously designed with the cast vent cap representing the spider's body. Commissioned in 2008 by a Chicago area client, we created this intensely colored amber to purple shade using Oceana 900 Series glass. This unique glass has a cloudy, opaque surface that bursts into life with intense transparent color when lit. Unfortunately, this glass is no longer manufactured by Oceana. The shade is shown on the Mushroom base (16" tall).

20" Nasturtium

One of the more unusually shaped shades created by Tiffany Studios is the 20" Nasturtium. This is a good example of the design aesthetic of the shades - nasturtiums are low, trailing plants that will mound up in a garden, crawling over rocks and even other plants. The low dome of this shade gives the overall effect of a lush garden specimen in riotous bloom.

The 20" Nasturtium is a shade with a non repeating design. Leaves and flowers undulate across the surface of the shade naturally, clumping together in some places vying for attention. Nasturtium shades lend themselves to strong color choices, and we chose a vibrant color scheme for this piece. Mottled, streaky and textured glasses tumbled together to create a riot of strong emotions.

Shown on the Twisted Vine base (24.5" tall), we had just completed this lamp for display as a showroom piece when it was purchased by a New York client for their home.

Lamp of the Week: 22" Trumpet Vine

The 22" Trumpet Vine is a large turban shaped shade covered in a profusion of blossoms.  Many hours were spent carefully blending the complex mix of colors, textures and transparency to achieve this vivid color scheme that celebrates the beauty of art glass. The shade is shown on the Root Base (the base telescopes from 26" to 31" tall). This lamp was commissioned in 2014 and is now in a private collection.

12" Zodiac on Zodiac base

Century Studios is pleased to present two new additions to our offerings - a 12" Zodiac shade and the Zodiac base.

Tiffany Studios created desk set accessories in many patterns, and often included small lamps to round out the sets. With over thirty individual pieces (each sold separately), the Zodiac pattern was one of the most popular of the desk set designs and included four different lamp options to round out the set - a Banker's style lamp, a Harp style lamp for use with blown shades, a Turtleback Lantern style lamp, and this Traditional style lamp base which could be used with multiple shades. Taking our molds from an original example, we are pleased to now include this versatile base in our line of reproduction Tiffany lamp bases. The Zodiac base will work with any 12" or 14" shade.

The 12" Zodiac shade is a Century Studios original design. Using design elements from the Zodiac desk set and also Tiffany Studios' 22" Zodiac shade, Bill Campbell created this shade to fit harmoniously on the Zodiac base. The shade features pressed glass jewels surrounded by a Celtic motif of undulating border rows which divide the shade into quadrants. For this example, green and blue border rows encircle amber/yellow glass panels and jewels.

The 12" Zodiac shade also works well on several different bases including the elegant Torpedo base. The shade was created as a showroom piece, and sold to a local client within hours of being placed on display in our showroom this past week.

Lamp of the Week - 18" Oak Leaf

The 18" Oak Leaf is a generously proportioned shade with a wide border of swirling leaves and acorns bookmarked between upper and lower sections of formal geometric glass tiles. The mottled celadon green glass sets off the amber acorns and green leaves tinged with red and brown. Commissioned in 2016 by a client in Maryland, this shade was installed as a chandelier fixture over a dining table. The shade is shown on the Ribbed base (24" tall).

New Shade Design - 9" Iris

Century Studios is pleased to present an new original lamp design - the 9" Iris shade.  Designed by Bill Campbell, this petite shade is covered in Iris flowers clustered together in a impressionistic melange of color. Blue and purple iris mix together with lively green leaves and stems. The irregular upper border of the shade adds an additional naturalistic detail.

Intended for use as a table top torchiere lamp, the shade is shown on the elegant Doric Column Torchiere base. The classic lines of the column echo the straight stalks of the flowers in the shade. This lamp is currently available for purchase in our showroom.

Lam;p of the Week: 14" Arrowhead

The 14" Arrowhead shade is inspired by the arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum), a plant with distinctively shaped leaves. This popular landscape specimen is often found near ponds and water features. For years, this shade has been mislabeled "arrowroot", but the original Tiffany price lists correctly identify this shade as #1418 14 in. Arrowhead Tall Cone (see Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, 2006 by Alaistar Duncan).

Created in 2017 for a client in Columbus, Ohio, the shade is a study in subtle variations of green and white, the blended coloration of which results in a calming effect. The shade is shown on the bulbous Shell Urn base. The squat body of the base is supported by the three feet which lightens the look of the base.